Switching on to Switch Off: A Analysis of Routine TV Watching Habits and Their Implications for Electronic Programme Guide Design
Abstract Television has acquired such a household presence that it is even consider part of the furniture. A household without a television would very much be abnormal. This is a research paper about the habits of people in regards to television watching. It is broken down to time of day, decision on what to watch, and attentiveness of viewers. This data, then, is discussed in its effects on electronic programme guides (EPG) and how they might be redesigned to increase use. Key Concepts The biggest takeaway from this is really how much television people watch. A majority of participants in this research study had three main television watching times: immediately when getting home, right after dinner, later night. Each of these had increasing attentiveness and increasing desire to watch specific shows. In all of the times, however, EPGs were used as a last resort. I think that this article is probably a bit dated, however. At least in my own experience, EPG is the main way to find what shows are on and what I would like to watch. It's interesting, though, that there was research done in the development of EPGs. This research probably improved the development of EPGs and has led to them being more often used today. Channel surfing, trailers and previews, and memory of schedule all still play a part in television watching today though. Almost everything in this article rang true in my life. For instance, my family has a routine of programming to watch on different days of the week. They are based on "daily or weekly routines" and "habitual time-based selection" to know what we want to watch and when we want to watch it. The advent of DVR as a pretty common household device probably upsets some of what this article has to say. Many times, people will not even have specific days when they watch specific shows but rather just times they like to watch TV. These times can then be filled in with whatever happens to be on the DVR. One-time and series recordings fill the DVR fast and offer many options of things the recorder wants to watch. Examples In this section, I will discuss examples from my own life. EPG effectiveness: I have become so accustomed to using EPGs that it is almost second nature. In the article, there is talk about how the controller is too complicated. With universal remotes, all functionality is combined into one device. With practice, I can use almost any function of the remote by touch rather than having to look. Television routines: I've been working full time jobs for many summers. This past summer, I got into a television rhythm of my own. After work, I would sit down and watch the previous night's Tonight Show (recorded on DVR). Then, I might watch a baseball game if it was on (usually 4 of 5 weekdays there is a game on). This would then be interrupted by planned-to-watch shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Masterchef. Eventually, I would be readying for bed and would watch a show on my computer in bed via Netflix. This could easily be replaced by more TV if there was a TV in my room. Keywords Routine Citations Article Link